Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

The car came hurtling toward her, but thankfully, there was still some distance between them. Ivy quickly backed away. There were two steps behind her, and the car charged right up onto them.

Fortunately, the sports car had a low chassis and couldn’t make it up the steps, getting stuck right there.

The million-dollar sports car was a total wreck.

’The driver was clearly coming for her, but Ivy didn’t think she had an enemy who hated her this much.’

A moment later, the car door opened, and Thea Sherwood stepped out.

Her face was contorted with rage. ”Ivy Sherwood! Why don’t you just drop dead!”

”Thea Sherwood?” Ivy hadn’t expected to see her here.

The last time she’d seen Thea, it was when Thea was being humiliated. It had only been a few days, but Thea had clearly changed a lot. Her face was gaunt, and she’d lost weight. But the look in her eyes was no longer one of brainless, crystal-clear stupidity.

”You’re not the first ingrate to repay kindness with hatred.”

She had, after all, helped Thea last time, telling her not to trust Timothy Sherwood and even urging her to go to the police.

Clearly, Thea hadn’t listened.

”Ivy Sherwood, for setting me up like this, I’ll kill you one day!”

”Thea Sherwood, use your head for once! What good would it do me to frame you?”

On the contrary, trying to save Thea had landed her in a tough spot. She almost couldn’t even complete her orders.

”Who knows what kind of deal you struck with that man, Rhodes! Just because you’re unwanted, you decided to frame me! I won’t let you get away with this!” Thea’s eyes were bloodshot; she now saw Ivy as her greatest enemy.

”With a brain like yours, you deserve what’s happened to you. Go ask about what’s been going on at my company. Then go look at what’s been happening at Sherwood Company. Timothy Sherwood and Ruby Sterling sold you out, and you’re still counting the money for them.”

”You’re lying!” Thea refused to believe it. ”They’re my parents! How could they hurt me? It was you! You’ve always been envious of me, jealous that I’m prettier and more talented than you.”

”Hah. If you insist on deluding yourself, there’s nothing I can do. I told you to look into it yourself, but you refuse to believe me. You could easily check Sherwood Company’s financials. See if a large sum of money came in right around the time your ’incident’ happened.”

Ivy had spelled it out for her. If Thea refused to believe it, there was nothing more she could do. ’You can’t wake someone who’s only pretending to be asleep.’

”And another thing. If Timothy Sherwood could use you once, he’ll do it again. You’d better wise up. You’ve been sold, and you’re still helping them count the profits.”

Ivy didn’t want to waste any more words on Thea. It was clear nothing she said would get through.

’She just never thought Ruby Sterling would do that to her own daughter.’

”Stop trying to get yourself off the hook! It was you! Even Yasmin Lee said so!”

”I don’t know anyone named Yasmin Lee.”

”She works in your shop, how could you not know? Ivy Sherwood, one day I’m going to make you suffer everything I’ve been through!” Thea roared.

Ivy’s brow twitched. ’Yasmin Lee... I really don’t know that name. She works in my shop?’

Ignoring Thea, Ivy walked away and made a call to Edie.

”Edie, I need you to check something for me. See if we have an employee named Yasmin Lee at any of our shops.”

Thea glared in the direction Ivy had gone, her fists clenched. ’This isn’t over!’

Fuming, Thea stormed off and went to the room her father had given her.

The room was large and beautifully decorated in a style Thea loved.

A short while later, the door opened and Charlie Rhodes walked in.

”Who’s made our little princess angry?”

Thea saw Charlie Rhodes and didn’t forget what had happened last time. Her body trembled as she pointed at him. ”You rapist!”

Her curse didn’t hurt him in the slightest. On the contrary, it made him feel even better.

’He’d long been a pervert; why would he care about things like that?’

”Thea, I’m your grandpa. Is that any way to talk to your grandpa?”

As Charlie Rhodes walked in, Thea backed away. He advanced until she was pressed against the far wall with nowhere left to go.

Charlie Rhodes grabbed Thea’s hand, terrifying her.

He lowered his head and took a light sniff. So fragrant. She smelled absolutely divine.

”Our Thea is just so beautiful,” the old pervert said, his voice full of obsession. He leaned in, trying to kiss her.

Flashes of that night came rushing back to her. Thea shoved him away. ”Get off me! Get off! Weren’t you going to apologize? Then do it! Apologize to me!”

”Apologize?” Charlie Rhodes feigned confusion. ”What apology?”

’Hadn’t Timothy Sherwood convinced Thea to come and spend the vacation with him willingly?’

”My dad said you invited me here to apologize to me, didn’t you?” Thea asked, her eyes welling with tears. She had no idea that her tearful appearance only further stoked Charlie Rhodes’s twisted desires.

’So Timothy Sherwood had lied to her. But for her to be so naive and gullible, she must have been very well-protected by him.’

’Anyone who had been beaten down by the real world would never believe such a thing.’

”I am here to apologize. In fact, I’ve prepared something for you. Come and see?”

Charlie Rhodes had, of course, prepared gifts for Thea. He led her into an adjacent room, where a row of designer handbags and jewelry immediately captivated her.

”Wow, this is the latest release!”

This one cost tens of millions and was one-of-a-kind. She’d wanted it ever since the pre-sale but couldn’t possibly afford it.

But now, all of it was right in front of her.

”What else do you want? Just tell Grandpa, and Grandpa will get it for you. I heard the Sherwood Family is short on cash lately, making our precious Thea suffer. Grandpa will transfer fifty million to you right now, how about that?”

”Fifty million?” Thea was floored by his generosity. Even though the Sherwood Family wasn’t poor, she’d never had this much pocket money. Timothy Sherwood only ever gave her tens or hundreds of thousands at a time.

”Not enough? Then how about a little more? Seventy million?”

Thea nodded frantically, her head completely turned by the material excess. She had already forgotten what this disgusting old man had done to her.

”Could you add... more?” Thea asked.

’If I had that kind of money,’ she thought, ’I could do so many things. I could even start my own company.’

”Of course. Whatever our Thea wants, Grandpa will provide.” Charlie Rhodes’s hands grew bolder, moving from her hand to her waist.

By the time Thea realized what was happening, he was already holding her in his arms.

”Then I want a hundred million— Ah! What are you doing?!”

Even though it was broad daylight, Charlie Rhodes couldn’t restrain himself.

”It’s yours. It’s all yours. I’d give you my life,” he murmured.

’She couldn’t believe Charlie Rhodes would dare to do this again. He said he was going to apologize, but instead...’

Thea struggled, but Charlie Rhodes simply grabbed a handkerchief and pressed it over her nose and mouth. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she fainted.